How to Pee With Bib Shorts

Women Want to Know: The Best Way to Pee When Wearing Bib Shorts

Our favorite female pros share their secret tips

Molly Hurford

It’s so much easier for guys.

(Photo by Robert J. Reese)

Women have faced this question for decades now: How do I pee when I’m wearing bib shorts without stripping completely down? Men have an easier task of just… well, you know. But we women don’t have the luxury of external parts, and so our spandex has to get out of the way in order for us to avoid a soggy ride.

A brief survey of a few outspoken pro women netted some serious opinions, as did an open question to our female readers.

Surprisingly, most of the pros with whom we spoke said that their method of peeing on the bike was to stop, drop, and go. They mentioned full-zip jerseys with stunning frequency. Others swear by the up-and-over method: pulling one leg of your shorts as high as possible, then shifting the chamois to the side. And a few riders discussed the finer points of simply “letting it go” while riding. Don’t try that on your shop ride, please.

Here are some other pee pointers from some of our favorite female pros (and a few of you, too!).

Jade Wilcoxson of Optum Pro Cycling explains, “I'm old-fashioned. I pull the shorts down and pee like a lady. I know other women that pull a leg over. I haven't tried that; I think my thighs are too big for that. I saw one girl put a bottle down her shorts, pee in it, then take it back to her team car for disposal. That was interesting and effective.”

“I’ve never peed on a bike, always stopped, even in races," says Lyne Besette, a former Olympic road cyclist for Canada who now lives in the States. "Women’s races are not long enough to have to pee unless you’re chatting! And that means the race is too slow and you have time to think about it. Wear full-zip jersey, stop, pee, get back on in less than a minute...”

Others swear by the “up and over” technique: Tayler Wiles of Specialized-lululemon explains, “I do the ‘flip and drip,’ which is pulling one leg of my shorts up and to the side. It’s quick and efficient but, strangely, a lot of girls say they can't do it… I guess if your shorts are too tight, or if you don't pee in a straight line, it can get messy. I've always been able to do it pretty easy though.”

Marijn de Vries, a Dutch racer and journalist, has written a blog before illustrating the steps to pulling your shorts up and over, and says she still favors this method. “That's how we did it lots of times during the last Giro Rosa,” she explained.

Canadian pro mountain biker Amanda Sin says that she employs a similar trick: she starts the ride with one bib strap down and tucked into her shorts, and then when she needs to go, she can easily pull them down while leaving the one strap up.

One amateur rider suggested almost the same thing when we asked for tricks on Facebook: “Unzip and take one arm out, holding jersey in hand of arm still wearing jersey. Lower suspenders. It’s a perfected art form after years of practice. I need a Girl Scout badge for it.”

Most of our readers told us that they tend to hold it, or find a spot to stop. (Our favorite? “I hold it. I have a bladder of frickin’ steel!”)

If you love bibs but hate the hassle, there are a few pairs out there with zippers and “drop downs” in the back so you can keep them on and just unzip when you have to go.

The Bottom Line
Full-zip jerseys are a plus for ease of taking on and off to drop your bibs.

Shorts and bibs with zips and drop-downs are easier for quick pit stops than standard bibs.

Stretchier fabrics are easier to pull up and to the side.

Not Recommended: the triathlete method of peeing while riding, especially if you’re wearing shorts with a thick chamois pad. Unless you’re going for a PR in a tri, there’s no need for this (and likely in a tri, you’re not wearing thick shorts).